Children's swings are typically used to entertain and put to sleep children, including infants, by providing a seat that swings smoothly along an arcuate path. Powered children's swings are particularly advantageous as they are configured to automatically swing a seat without the need for a parent or child to continuously provide a motive force to keep the seat in motion. Such powered children's swings are known to be powered in various configurations by motors (e.g., a direct current motor) via a mechanical linkage to the swing seat. Other powered children's swings make use of magnetic drive systems, which are advantageous over motor-driven swings for their superior reliability and quiet operation. For example, certain magnetically driven children's swings make use of an electromagnet configured to repel a single permanent magnet connected to a swing seat, thereby driving the seat along its arcuate path.
However, current magnetically driven children's swings have a number of drawbacks. Current swings are only configured to drive a swing seat with repulsive magnetic forces. As a result, current magnetic drive systems are only effective when the swing seat is moving away from one of the magnetic components. This limits the ability of such swings to control the dynamics of the swing's motion and provide a smooth and continuous driving force. In addition, as the magnetic force between two magnetic objects decreases over distance, significant gaps between the magnetic drive components of current swings reduces the power efficiency of their magnetic drive systems.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a magnetically driven children's swing with an improved magnetic drive system providing improved swing dynamics and greater power efficiency.